Ram temple dispute: Sadhu who threatened to set himself ablaze sent to judicial custody

A court in Ayodhya on Tuesday sent sadhu, Paramhans, to 14-day judicial custody, officials said. He had threatened to set himself ablaze on December 6, the anniversary of the Babri mosque demolition, if the date for construction of Ram temple was not announced, police said.

Paramhans was picked up by the police in the morning and presented before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court.

He had gone on an indefinite fast unto death last month too but was persuaded to end it. But not before he was taken away by the police and admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI). The Chief Minister had ended his fast by offering him juice.

This time, sources said, intelligence inputs forewarned the state government that the seer could pose a serious threat to peace in the temple town.